Chapter 1 of Inclusive High Schools: Learning from Contemporary Classrooms, by Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., Caren Sax, Ed.D., & Ian Pumpian, Ph.D., with invited contributors

Copyright © 1999 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book is about high schools that have changed the way in which supports and services are provided to all students and about the people who have made these changes happen. The reflections of teachers and the case studies of schools in this book were selected with the intention of providing a range of demographic information about inclusive education. Both general and special educators' voices are represented in this book, as are rural and urban schools, small and large schools, and schools with diverse student populations. The teachers and schools featured in this book were also purposely selected to demonstrate some of the different ways in which systems evolve to become more inclusive. Demetra Jackson of John Q. Adams High School (see also Chapter 6) reported to the authors that

We first got together and talked about inclusive education for all students when we were awarded the Research, Development, and Demonstration grant from the state [Department of Education]. We had been providing mainstreaming and inclusive experiences for students with mild disabilities for several years, but students with more severe disabilities were often not part of our efforts. Now, don't get me wrong, we had a few parents that advocated on behalf of their children to be in regular classes, and we always accommodated individual requests. For the most part, our program for students with severe disabilities was significantly more community based and vocationally oriented.

Each chapter makes a unique contribution to the book. Taken together, they provide credible evidence to support inclusive education and the need for restructuring at the secondary school level. Each chapter in this book provides several concepts to consider with regard to the relationship between inclusive education and high school restructuring.

Chapter 2 identifies themes of general education reform and how these reforms affect students with disabilities. In addition, it provides an overview of change models and the ways in which schools have begun to implement inclusive, restructuring efforts. This framework is presented to provide a context for the other chapters in the book.

Chapters 3 and 4 provide personal accounts of changes in practice from the perspectives of a special educator and a general educator, respectively. Chapters 5-7 provide case studies of three high schools that have undergone changes to implement inclusive education. The remainder of the book provides reflections on these personal accounts and case studies from policy makers, educators, and parents.

In Chapter 3, David Zaino, a high school special education teacher, discusses his personal and professional changes of opinion about inclusive education. He relates a compelling story about a student named Christina and her journey from a Romanian orphanage to an inclusive American high school. In addition, he provides an analysis of the current research on inclusive education. Through his discussion of Christina and his analysis of changes in the field of special education, he shares his personal and professional journey. This journey has taken him from being a staff member in a sheltered workshop for transition-age students to becoming a valued member of a comprehensive high school.

In Chapter 4, Eileen Bagg-Rizzo, a high school English teacher, paints a different picture of inclusion for us. She discusses a student with an individualized education program (IEP) and the changes in that student's educational goals as she moved from a segregated junior high school to an inclusive high school. Bagg-Rizzo also writes of her own educational experiences and the absence of individuals with disabilities in her own life. Similar to Zaino's reflections, Bagg-Rizzo's describe her own growth from working as a content specialist prepared to teach a select group of high achievers to working as a teacher prepared to set high expectations for achievement among all learners.

In Chapter 5, two high school teachers, Karen Rodifer and Elizabeth Castagnera, discuss the changes at their school. Their high school case study combines a case-by-case approach to inclusive education with whole-school change. In addition, their chapter covers block scheduling, senior projects, and curriculum modifications.

In Chapter 6, Lois Chappell, a vice principal, and Lyn Pratt, a high school special education teacher, explain the change that their school experienced in moving toward inclusive education. Their high school case study illustrates how a state-funded pilot project facilitated whole-school change. A number of activities that have been used at their school to introduce diversity and disability into content-area classes are explained. These activities provide teachers with ways to enter the inclusion conversation with their students.

In Chapter 7, Cheryl M. Jorgensen, a research professor at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, provides an overview of the opening of a new, inclusive high school. Her case study examines a phased-in approach to whole-school change. She allows readers an inside look at the way in which a school's operating principles can create an inclusive agenda. She offers a glimpse at the operation of the school by explaining how teachers create inclusive lessons. Her chapter also covers new uses of time, critical friends, and governance structures in an inclusive secondary school environment.

The authors of Chapters 8-11 discuss the personal reflections and case studies presented in Chapters 2-7. Reflections on those previous chapters are provided from the perspective change theory and inclusive education (Chapter 8); policy, achievement, and inclusive education (Chapter 9); personal development and inclusive practices (Chapter 10); and parent involvement in educational efforts (Chapter 11). In Chapter 8, colleagues from the University of Hawaii--Garnett Smith, Robert Stodden, and Ronald James--join in reflecting on the changes that teachers and schools experienced. They propose a framework for considering and understanding school change. In Chapter 9, Virginia Roach provides another analysis of the teacher and school changes presented in the case studies in this book. She examines these changes from the perspective of policy analysis and identifies three components of student achievement that must be addressed: curriculum, instruction, and placement. In Chapter 10, Ian Pumpian discusses the need for a change in teacher education practices and policies. His analysis of the need for a comprehensive system of professional development indicates that training programs must be aligned with the outcomes that school administrators and educators seek, and he proposes a way to achieve that goal. In Chapter 11, Barbara Buswell, a parent and Co-Director of the PEAK Parent Center, reminds readers of the role that parents continue to play in education. She also challenges readers to consider another needs: continuity, a theme that provides a suitable conclusion for the book. Buswell believes that parents and educators must become responsible for learning about effective practices to be implemented with students with and without disabilities and relaying that information to teachers and students without continuity, parents and educators just keep starting over and over again in trying new practices.